


Kitty Goes Meow

by StupidSexySlimeGod



Category: HLVRAI - Fandom
Genre: Awkward PetSmart encounters, Benrey's one-man show is not one he'll be able to take on the road unfortunately, Catboy?, M/M, Masturbation, Pet Play, The drug is catnip, drug use?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:14:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26654266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StupidSexySlimeGod/pseuds/StupidSexySlimeGod
Summary: Benrey's a predator, and apparently more cat-like than Gordon expected. Scientific inquisitiveness and a pending ban from the local PetSmart ensues.
Relationships: Benrey/Gordon Freeman
Comments: 12
Kudos: 282





	Kitty Goes Meow

Gordon pointedly locked eyes with the cashier, a young woman in her mid-twenties with her long hair pulled back in a ponytail that matched his own. She was smiling, a freckle-faced cutie with dimples and dark brown eyes that, just two weeks before, he probably would have tried to find an excuse to flirt with in hopes of landing a coffee date. Now, she was the enemy, a flash of pearly teeth that he could tell  _ knew _ that something was amiss. Even though she had no reason to question his purchase in the slightest, he could feel his hackles raise as she slid the catnip across the scanner and announced his total.

He was just getting cat toys, after all. A couple of little mice with plastic eyes in bright, vivid neon. A ball that looked like wadded up foil and crinkled satisfyingly when squished. A teaser wand covered in feathers that was  _ way _ more expensive than it should have been, considering that it probably wouldn’t survive longer than a week.

And, of course, the catnip.

Gordon’s eyes continued to flick up to the cashier as he dug through his wallet, struggling to keep his hands steady as he filtered through the overcrowded slots for the correct card. To fill the awkward gap of silence, she kept asking him if he was a member of their rewards club and Gordon mentally slapped himself when he instinctively replied that he didn’t have a reason to join since he didn’t have a pet.

Silence. The two held one another’s stare for far longer than was comfortable, Gordon’s face flushing red as he crammed his debit card into the reader and stabbed furiously at the buttons, in hopes that the exaggerated anger would somehow draw her attention away from his slip of the tongue.

“For a friend,” he finally sputtered when that didn’t work, the cashier still smiling vacantly at him. She was obviously formulating theories behind her eyes. “My roommate. He, uh, he has a cat. Trying to keep it from, uh, clawing the couch. Distractions. You, uh, you know.”

“Uh-huh,” she responded, and he swore he could hear her stifling a laugh. “We have a spray for that, you know. In aisle eleven, with the chew deterrent.”

Now, she was just being a smart-ass. He could feel it in his bones. 

Still, he couldn’t bring himself to confront her, instead staring at the card reader, then his wallet, and then his feet once everything was safely back in his pocket. He barely registered her voice as he scooped up his bag and power walked to the door, inhaling sharply in an effort to calm his spiking anxiety.

“Come again!” she called after him.

He knew for a fact he could never again step foot in the Mercantile Avenue PetSmart for the rest of his life.

* * *

Benrey was in the kitchen when Gordon arrived home, which wasn’t a complete and total shock. For an inhuman creature who professed that he didn’t need to eat, drink, or sleep, he could usually be found eating, drinking, or sleeping at any given time. In this particular instance, he seemed halfway on the route to doing all three at once, the microwave humming on the counter while he dozed at the kitchen table with an unopened Pepsi in his hand. From the living room, Gordon could detect the soft drone of music from a paused game, long forgotten during a valiant quest for frozen bean burritos.

He didn’t stir when Gordon walked in the door, or when the microwave went off, or when Gordon practically stomped to the kitchen table. For a brief second, he wondered if Benrey had actually died mid-lunchbreak. That train of thought derailed when the PetSmart bag hit the table and the other man’s nostrils flared. 

One groggy eye snapped open. There were no words exchanged. Benrey lashed out a hand to grab at Gordon’s haul, making a bitter sound when he gently scooted it out of his reach.

“Good morning,” Gordon stated dryly. Benrey ignored him, stretching out across the table for the bag again. Once more, he slid it further away.

“I see you’ve had a productive day. What’ve you been playing?”

Benrey continued to say nothing. Gordon watched, amused, as he strained to reach the bag and hooked a finger into the plastic. The sound he made when Gordon snatched it out of his grip would have been amusing if it wasn’t so sad, Benrey’s eyes large and full of disappointment as he watched Gordon carry it to the kitchen counter.

“Sounds like Fallout. You finally get around to playing New Vegas?”

Benrey’s brows furrowed. Gears in his head began to whir to life and, when Gordon tossed a glance over his shoulder, he could tell that he knew something was up. Though his eyes were partially hidden by his shaggy black hair, the scowl he wore was pretty tell-tale. It wasn’t as though Gordon was being subtle. That was an artform he’d lacked since acquiring his impromptu roommate, no matter how much he wanted to believe that he had managed to put up a normal facade.

But “normal” doesn’t just bring an alien creature into one’s home after it tried to kill him. “Normal” also didn’t try to justify this decision by remembering the few times they’d gotten along, or because of a weird hope that it’d do something to alleviate his loneliness. It tended to avoid being smitten with a predator after realizing that it was essentially a giant cat wearing human skin, right down to the purring and the chasing of laser pointers.

And “normal” sure as fuck didn’t make an ass out of itself at PetSmart, buying goddamn  _ catnip _ for their extraterrestrial roommate.

Gordon sighed and rubbed his temple, his hand traveling up to his hair and slicking it out of his face. Sparing another look at Benrey and noticing that he was now glaring at him, he reached into the bag. He popped one of the mice free from its packaging and chucked it clear out of the kitchen into the living room.

As predicted, Benrey was up and after it in the blink of an eye. The speed with which he moved was both impressive and terrifying as, against all odds, he managed to catch it before it even hit the ground.

“Whoa, you got me mices. I, uh, I love mices,” he announced as he walked back into the kitchen. He bypassed the table, vivid green mouse juggling between his fingers. The fur was ruffled, and Gordon watched curiously as his pointed nails dug at its little plastic eyes. He only looked away when Benrey sidled up to him and, as if he had permission, began prying through his pet store haul.

“Yeah. I, uh, I figured that if your brain works like a cat’s brain then you’d need stimulation.”

“Stimulation?” Benrey echoed. The way he said it was very loaded, sitting somewhere firmly in between “intrigued” and “bewildered.” He opted not to read too far into it, just like he opted to let Benrey have the bag after his attempt at retrieval was met with a growl.

“Well, apex predators--which, I’m guessing you fit the bill--are, you know,  _ smart _ . And  _ active _ . They need to be engaged or they get destructive. And I don’t think sharing a one room apartment with me is very engag--”

The sentence died as Benrey picked up the crinkle ball, squished it tightly in his hand, and barked a delighted laugh. With a snap of his wrist, he pitched it across the linoleum. The mouse was forgotten, bouncing uselessly to the floor as its owner found his way crammed under the table in pursuit of his new toy. Somehow, his shirt got tangled in a chair in the process.

“Okay, maybe this was a waste. You’re definitely not too smart.”

“Huh?”

“I got you a feather wand, too,” Gordon continued, unwilling to repeat himself. “And a treat.”

“A treat?” 

Benrey seemed to perk up at the promise, knocking his head against the underside of the furniture as he hurriedly yanked himself free. There was something strangely innocent in his eyes as he looked up at Gordon, and he chuckled as he unveiled the prize. With a flick of his hand, he sent the catnip sailing directly into Benrey’s waiting fingers.

He stared at the pouch, regarded it, rotated it in his hands. He chewed his lips, sharp teeth sinking into thin skin. He sniffed at the packaging and gnawed at the corners and, still completely confused, looked up with an uncharacteristically earnest expression. To Gordon’s surprise, he was still smiling, even if he had no idea what in the concentrated fuck he was looking at.

“Grass clippings!” he finally announced. “I, uh, I guess I like grass clippings? They smell hella good, bro.”

The bark of laughter that escaped Gordon was quickly masked as a cough.

“It’s not grass clippings, dude. It’s catnip.”

“Cat… nip?”

Benrey blinked for a moment, his brain taking its good old easy time trying to put two and two together. One could practically watch him buffering, his smile acting as a loading bar for his thoughts. Gradually it grew, until he wore a grin that spanned ear-to-ear. 

“Oh, yeah! That shit we talked about!”

Gordon made an affirmative noise in response, trying to will away the growing flush in his cheeks. They  _ had _ talked about it, at great length, the weekend before when Gordon realized that Benrey was incapable of becoming drunk. One joke had led into another and then another, until it wrapped around to his borderline feline antics and a quip about using a ‘nip mouse instead of cheap beer to get him adequately liquored up. Sure, it was meant to be funny, but Gordon was also full of scientific curiosity and--

He shook his head. It was just scientific curiosity. There was no other motivation.

“Do I eat it?” Benrey asked suddenly, and Gordon’s eyes snapped up from where they’d trailed to his feet. He could feel the heat in his face and was certain it was obvious to even someone as oblivious as his roommate. Still, he cleared his throat and pretended everything was business-as-usual.

“I mean, you can, I think. I’ve never had a cat.” Gordon paused, palm raising to the back of his neck. “Mostly I think they just sniff it? Roll in it? I was, uh, going to sprinkle it on the floor for you.”

“Uh, wha? I gotta, uh, snort it off the floor?”

“That’s how catnip works.”

Being inhuman and ignorant of human customs, Benrey didn’t question it. He didn’t catch on that maybe, just maybe, he could have just taken a whiff straight out of the bag or done lines of catnip off of the table like a feline Scarface. As Gordon swept past and plucked the pouch out of his hands, he simply stood up off the floor and followed behind him like an obedient pet gunning for a treat.

He helped move the couch and coffee table against the wall. He stood quietly as Gordon sprinkled a generous amount of nip on the carpet. To be honest, it was the least annoying Benrey had been in a very long while, something that Gordon felt he could get used to. At first, he wondered why it was he was suddenly so docile and quiet--maybe he  _ was _ just a “good boy” whose endgame was the baggie in Gordon’s hand--but when he turned around to look at the guy he noticed something odd about his face.

Benrey’s pupils were blown out wide, his eyes as big as saucers. His nose flared as he sniffed at the air, more like a dog than a creature in human skin. Drool traced colors down his chin, a “mellow yellow” hue with which Gordon had become familiar. Before he could open his mouth to say a word, Benrey fell forward onto the ground, face fucking first.

“Holy shit!” Gordon squawked. “Are you--?”

A low, deep rumble filled the air that took the wind out of Gordon’s lungs. It initially seemed like a growl, and it took a solid minute for him to realize that that wasn’t the case. His own breathing steadied as he looked down at Benrey, writhing on the floor and making carpet angels.

Purring. He was  _ purring _ . Gordon scratched his head. The guy was more cat-like than he thought.

“Dude.” Benrey’s eyes lazily drifted to Gordon as he rolled over on his back. “ _ Dude _ .”

“Dude,” Gordon echoed. Something akin to a chuckle escaped him. He wasn’t sure if it came from a place of amusement, nerves, or concern. Hell, it could have even been a combination of the three.

“S’warm,” Benrey slurred. “Smells good. What’s, uh, what’s  _ in _ these grass clippings?”

“Dude, I already told you that it’s not grass clippings. It’s catnip.”

“... Huh?”

“Cat. Nip.”

“Wha? Whassat?”

“I… I think it’s in the same family as mint? I… it’s just catnip, man. Are you okay? You hit the ground really hard.”

“Bro, I’m more than good. I’m  _ grrrrreat.” _

In a move that would have made Tony the Tiger proud, Benrey raised his finger in the air to punctuate the sentence and growled out “great” like a seasoned pro. Gordon bit back a laugh and took a seat on the couch, watching as that gesture turned into something new. Tucking his hands under his chin, Benrey shifted and squirmed and wallowed into the carpet as though trying to scratch his back, a sigh escaping him that sounded borderline salacious.

Of course, it wasn’t  _ actually _ salacious. It couldn’t have been. But the sound did have a peculiar effect on Gordon, the kind of effect that made his heart beat a little faster and made him keenly aware of just how strangely  _ attractive _ his roommate was.

Greasy, but good bone structure. Portly, but strong. Built less like a teddy bear and more like a refrigerator, he supposed, with broad shoulders and traces of muscle he could see now that Benrey’s squirming was causing his shirt to inch up his back.

Gordon shook his head, hard enough that he nearly sent his glasses flying. If Benrey noticed, he didn’t have anything to say about it.

“Potential injury aside, how are you feeling?” he asked instead, snorting when Benrey quickly rolled to his stomach and jerked up to look at him. His face was as red as he imagined his own to be, but the expression was wild and vacant. The lights were on, but nobody was home. 

“Huh?” Benrey finally slurred, after a pause that stretched on for far too long.

“I asked how you were _ feeling _ . Christ.”

“Like I’m takin’ a road trip to the moon,” he responded bluntly, in a deadpan that was dry even for his usual monotone. 

“I’m going to assume that’s good.”

“You assume right.”

With that, Benrey fell to the ground again, pressing his face into the carpet and giving it a good sniff. Dried bits of catnip clung to his hair as he awkwardly rubbed his cheek into the floor and rolled onto his back once more. It seemed like it was impossible for him to sit still, Gordon watching as he flopped and shimmied and wallowed. He also began to notice something else in the mix, yellow eyes trailing up from the ground as if to make sure Gordon was watching.

Or, no. No, Gordon knew that look. He was  _ searching _ for something.

A response, maybe? Approval? Gordon wasn’t sure, but the longer Benrey stared at him, the hotter he felt. Inhaling sharply, he fanned himself off as his pet roommate followed his wandering gaze.

“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed.”

Benrey’s voice was like a gunshot in the silence, and the adrenaline it triggered was just as severe. Gordon’s heart leapt into his throat as his brain lagged ten steps behind him, emotionally aware of what had been said but not quite cognizant of the exact words. When he finally gathered the courage to look at Benrey--supine, arms folded above his head, knees bent and feet flat on the ground--he noticed his sharp, toothy, and rather telling grin more than he noticed the glow of his eyes or how caked he was in catnip. 

He swallowed hard. He had to have heard wrong.

“E-excuse me?” he choked. Benrey laughed, his nose crinkling like a predatory animal. It was alluring in a way, except no. It wasn’t. There was nothing intriguing about the alien lying on his floor.

“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed. And when you’re mad. Fuckin’... fuckin’ Gordon Cute… man. Guy.”

The way he slurred his words was telling. He didn’t mean it. He was intoxicated, no different than a drunk with beer goggles at a bar. Not that it would have mattered, Gordon reminded himself, because there was no way in hell he’d ever be moved by the idea of this extraterrestrial slob complimenting him. Even if the words had weight, they were essentially meaningless.

He ignored the way his mouth went dry, and the way his heart thudded uncomfortably, and the weird and telling anxiety working its way through his body. It was truly, totally meaningless.

“You, uh, you look a little bothered. Got something you, uh, wanna say to Big Ben?”

“No,” Gordon responded, perhaps a bit too harshly. “I don’t have anything to say. And you’re going to regret what you’ve been saying in half an hour when this wears off.”

“Don’t think I will, man. Don’t regret a lot of things.”

From the position he was in, Benrey raised his hips upwards, arching up on his toes with his shoulders planted firmly on the ground. His shirt slid further down his torso, exposing a trail of hair that led to the waistband of his pants and…  _ oh _ .

Gordon’s eyes went wide. His face felt like it was melting. He whipped his head to the side to look away and shielded his face with a hand.

Benrey was sporting, at the very least, a half chub. One that was, unfortunately, extremely noticeable in his new position.

“ _ Scandalous _ ,” Benrey sing-songed and Gordon let out a furious sigh. It was, of course, met with laughter.

“Oh, come  _ on _ , bro. It’s nothing. You’ve, uh, you seen it before.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Really? Huh. Guess, uh, guess I was wrong about you catchin’ me jackin’ it on the couch then, huh? Lame. Was tryin’ to be a showman and  _ everything. _ ”

Shock practically grabbed Gordon’s chin and forced him to look at Benrey once more, the jagged-toothed creature offering a sloppy, dazed smile. He expected maybe some semblance of shame, but that was obviously asking too much of the guy. Instead, satisfied with the fact he had Gordon’s attention, one of the hands resting above his head began to snake towards his chest, down his stomach, to his hips, sinking further…

“Wanna see it now?”

“N-no!” Gordon barked, but the words didn’t taste right. It clashed with some tiny voice in the back of his mind that was actually curious, that was honestly hoping the whole time that this would be the way this ended. Giggling beneath an internal monologue that insisted that all of this was for the sake of scientific discovery, something to sate his naturally curious mind, there was a latent feeling that bubbled and boiled and reminded him quite clearly of everything leading up to this point.

Things he honestly would have rather not thought about.

How his hatred of Benrey turned into pity, then intrigue when he realized just how unique his behavior was outside of Black Mesa. How he’d honestly found his weird, feline quirks adorable, then alluring in a way he didn’t  _ want _ to put a finger on. How he’d spent the better part of his time living with this monster prodding at him, petting him, figuring out how to make him purr. Innocent stuff, he’d told himself over and over again, no different than it would be if he were an actual cat. Benrey wasn’t human, after all, so that made it okay.

Except it wasn’t okay. Benrey wasn’t human but he  _ looked _ human and he  _ acted _ mostly human and Gordon had essentially been cuddling and scritching and belly rubbing a grown-ass man while watching reruns on weekday evenings. He was fixated on the way Benrey acted beneath his hands, the way he stretched and rolled and rubbed himself against him, head bunting and nuzzling, getting closer to Gordon than anyone had in years.

Against his will, that tiny voice reminded him of late, lonely nights when he’d leave Benrey on the couch and go to bed. The bottle of lotion on his nightstand was half empty for a reason. There were shirts he swore he’d never be able to wear again in good conscience.

“Yeah, you do. Liar. Walls are thin, bro, and you’re loud.”

Gordon buried his face in his hands, shifting uncomfortably in his seat as he heard a slow, pleased groan from Benrey. He couldn’t see through his hands to tell what was going on, but the audio told him everything he could ever want to know. It relayed every shift of his weight, every ruffle of fabric, every grunt and hiss. Then came the purring, the goddamn  _ purring _ , louder than it had been before, rumbling through the air and making his brain tingle.

“Is this awkward, bro? If it’s awkward, I’ll go to the bathroom or somethin’,” Benrey mumbled, and Gordon lifted his eyes to peek through a gap in his fingers. He half expected to see Benrey showing some self restraint, to just be messing with him, but he should have known better. Even as he spoke, even as Gordon watched, he had his hand crammed down his pants, fingers dancing around the sizable tent his dick had made out of them. The look on his face was curiously aware for somebody who was rolling in more than one sense, and there was a sharp intelligence and clear intent shining in his eyes.

It was then that, even though it was already blatantly obvious, Gordon knew he had been caught. Not only by Benrey, it would seem, but his own body. A feeling of anticipation blossomed in his chest, and his cock twitched in his pants like a curious animal waking from a nap. He leaned between his knees and gripped the sides of his head, eyes still trained on Benrey though he was consciously trying to hide the effect he was having on him.

“Do I, uh, need to stop?” he rumbled. 

Gordon’s common sense said yes.

His mouth said, “You’re fine.”

“Sweet.”

Benrey was shifting now, pleased and content and still purring like mad, working his pants down to his knees even as he stayed arched backwards in that awkward position. Presenting himself, as if he was purposefully trying to give Gordon a good show. The thought made Gordon’s head reel. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth. Looking at this was too much.

“You’re so red,” Benrey continued. “Red-don Freeman. Gore-red Freeman. Somethin’-somethin’ Redman.”

“Shut up,” Gordon hissed. Benrey smacked his lips.

“Real fuckin’ cute.”

The content sigh that came out of Benrey was pure electricity, and what it did to Gordon was nothing short of magical. Blood was being diverted from the section of his brain that wanted to keep up the semblance of “normal,” and he bit hard into his bottom lip in hopes the pain would distract him. It didn’t, and morbid curiosity made him look up at his roommate yet again.

He was still smiling. His face was now pink. His dick was on full display, gripped in a single hand that kept a slow, teasing pace as if he had every intention of dragging this out. When he noticed Gordon watching, his mouth opened to say something that was hard to make out with his heavy, steady breathing.

“Not fair. Nope. Not fair, bro. Nerds don’t, uh, have a right to look so good. Have an ass like that. Fuckin’...” Benrey bit down on his tongue and hissed, before regaining his ability to speak. “... I think I told you that. Liked the view. Back at Black Mesa. God, I loved walking behind you.”

Gordon could feel the blush traveling down his neck, down his chest. He didn’t even know that was possible. Something was boiling inside of him, threatening to bubble over entirely, but he wouldn’t let it. No, sir. Even if he was enjoying this (he told himself he wasn’t) and even if this was exactly what he wanted (again, he denied this), he would fight tooth and nail to keep it bottled deep, deep down in some dark part of his soul where the rest of his shameful thoughts lived.

His dick, however, was at rapt attention. He leaned further forward to keep Benrey from seeing, as painful as it was.

“Uh, been hearin’ you. In your room,” Benrey continued seamlessly; he picked up his pace but expertly kept his hips still. “Told you. Walls are thin, so fuckin’ thin. Heard whose name you yell. Flattered, bro. Truly, truly  _ touched _ .”

“Benrey, please. I--”

“Wanna touch me for real? Room for two down here.”

Time stood still. Gordon’s heart stopped, as did his lungs and his brain and basically every other vital organ save for the one that was stiff and twitching between his legs. It was like bluescreening in real life. After a moment to reboot with a gentle shake of his head, he finally pried his hands away from his head and really, truly looked at what he was dealing with.

His brows furrowed. His mouth curled into a frown.

“Benrey, you’re high right now. It wouldn’t be kosher, you know? I’m just going to go to--”

“‘Bed?’” Benrey mocked with a snort. “It’s four in the afternoon, bro. Stop crushin’ your schlong. I already know you’re hard. Join the club. Only two members. Me and, uh,  _ you _ .”

“That doesn’t change the fact that--”

“Yeah, yeah. Little mister  _ science _ man, thinkin’ that givin’ a guy my size two sprinkles of grass clipping’s gonna… gonna last more than a few minutes.”

“It’s  _ not _ grass clippings.”

“Whatever. Not the point. Point is, bro, I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m  _ so _ self aware right now.”

Their eyes leveled at each other. Gordon swallowed hard. Benrey fucking  _ winked _ .

“Dude, you know what would be awesome?” he asked. “If you, uh, got the catnip. Got down on my level. Stopped, uh, stopped bein’ so boring.”

“No. No, I’m not coming down there.”

Benrey shrugged against the carpet, dancing on his toes. His thighs were starting to shake, sweat was beading at his brow. He was really working himself now, and Gordon felt something twist into a knot inside his gut. His own hands trembled and he clenched them into fists to keep them from straying too close to his crotch.

“Whatever. Enjoy the show, I guess.”

With that, it seemed the conversation was over. The unspoken invitation to leave was there, but Gordon couldn’t make himself stand. He was burning, he was watching, he was holding his breath as he observed Benrey caked in catnip and sweat, pumping himself with a vigor that was exhausting to watch. His eyes were fluttering, his tongue sticking out between razor sharp teeth, his breathing labored. Heady moans would escape his lips every so often as his once-still hips lost control and he thrust into his own hand like a desperate, rutting animal.

Words intermingled with whimpers and groans, some of them too soft to hear and others painfully loud. Gordon’s ears went red-hot with every bit he could make out, barely coherent sentences strung together by the thread of a near-violent want. The way they were said and what they contained made Gordon’s insides melt and prompted a pleading whine.

“God, Gordon. Wish you’d… you’d make me yours. Only yours. I’d be a good boy. So good. Good for you. I’ll be  _ so good for you _ .”

Gordon’s own breath was ragged. It was a struggle to make his voice come out as anything higher than a squeak.

“Is that what you really want?”

“God, yes. Fuck, Gordon. I’ll be good. A good boy.”

Gordon raked a hand through his hair. He was so sweaty.  _ When did he get this sweaty _ ?

“I guess that would be okay. You… you can be my good boy.”

That did the trick, it seemed. Benrey threw back his head into the floor so hard that it made an audible noise, somehow arching his back further. He came in spurts, messy ropes of cum shooting across his hand and stomach and smearing into his happy trail. His breathing slowed, but his voice remained stained with lust. Gordon’s name spilled out of him like venom, and Gordon wasn’t immune to the devastating effects.

After a few long moments of panting, Benrey settled himself fully on the floor. A happy sigh filled the silence as he angled himself back to look at Gordon and smirked, smug and exhausted.

“Was I good?”

Gordon nodded stiffly.

“Very.”

“ _ Nice _ .”

With that, Gordon stood. His legs trembled, his core ached, as did everything between his legs. The raging boner he was sporting was hardly invisible, and he saw Benrey’s teasing expression the second he noticed. He flashed a toothy smile, and chuckled as Gordon waddled past, making his way to his bedroom.

He shut the door.

He locked it.

He put dirty clothes beneath it to try to muffle the noise.

But he knew--he fucking  _ knew _ \--that Benrey would be able to hear him. He hadn’t even believed he was being loud in the past, and he was confident he was going to be practically screaming on this particular afternoon.

* * *

The cashier at the Mercantile Avenue PetSmart was named Candace, according to her nametag. 

Gordon made a mental note of it as he stood in front of her register and noticed the spark of recognition in her eyes. Of course, it’d only been a week since the last time he was there, but he’d half hoped that maybe she’d have forgotten what had transpired. He couldn’t be the only person who came in, announced they didn’t have a pet, and walked out with armfuls of cat toys. The world of retail was a weird and unpredictable place where that was bound to happen at least twice a week.

She scanned his items with a chipper smile and didn’t bother to make conversation, obviously keenly aware of how Gordon was staring her down. He only strayed to watch his purchases slide across the scanner and drop into the bag, making mental notes to make sure everything was there.

Catnip mice. A variety pack of jingle balls. A few more pouches of catnip. A new laser pointer. A fishing pole with a line tipped with feathers.

He was really spoiling Benrey, wasn’t he?

It was only when she picked up the collar that the two actually looked at each other, Candace’s brows furrowing in bewilderment as she took a moment to regard it. Her eyes darted to the bag of cat supplies, then at the heavy leather number in her hands. Obviously, a housecat wouldn’t have a need for a collar meant for a Rottweiler, and the gears in her brain seemed to spin uselessly as she tried to put two and two together.

Before she could, Gordon shrugged and gestured at it. The smile he wore was strangely casual, considering what was on his mind.

“Can you put a bell on that?”

Candace blinked but said nothing. Her smile faltered ever-so-slightly.

“I’m sorry. Can I what?”

“A bell. On the collar. Can you put a bell on it?”

She considered. She tried to save the smile on her face. She nodded, slowly getting back into the groove of the transaction.

“Yes, sir. We can do that. For an extra five dollars, we can also add identification tags. Would that be something you’re interested in, sir?”

“Uh, yeah. If you don’t mind.”

She turned away from him and keyed in the extra cost. She acted as politely and nonchalantly as she could as she called over her manager to help her with the strange request. Gordon did everything in his power to ignore the way the manager smiled and side-eyed him in a way that let him know he’d been caught.

But it didn’t matter. He had a good boy at home who had needs that he had to meet.

Besides, even if he could never step foot in the Mercantile Avenue PetSmart ever again, there were other PetSmarts in Albuquerque. 


End file.
